Fastening means for flexible gates.



c. s. WHITWORTH. FASTENING MEANS FOR FLEXIBLE GATES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1918.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

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G. S. WHITWORTH. FASTENING MEANS FOR FLEXIBLE GATES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1913. 1,1 19,134, Patented Dec. 1,1914.

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N TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES s. wrnrwonrrr, or CEDAR FALLS, IOWA, AssIe-Nor. or ONE-HALF ro CHARLES C. BUGLE, 0F CEDAR- FALLS, IOWA.

FASTENING MEANS FOR FLEXIBLE earns.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914;.

Application filed September 18, 1913. Serial No. 790,498.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. VVHIT- WORTH, a citizen of the United States of America, and aresident of Cedar Falls, Blackhawk county,Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastening Means for Flexible Gates, of which the following is a specification;

My invention relates to improvements in fastening-means for flexible gates, and the object of my improvement is to furnish a latch and catch therefor for this type of a gate, the catch being formed and adapted,

for use in conjunction with the latch, ar-- ranged so as to receive the latch bolt when the gate is swung horizontally in either direction, or is lowered vertically from a raised position, to automatically engage said catch detachably on either occasion. This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: I l i I Figure-1 is an elevation of a flexible gate equipped with my improved fasteningmeans, the gate being shown as secured to the head post in its lowered position, and ad justed for horizontally swinging movements in a position to engage the horizontally e2;- tending parts of the catch-device. Fig. 2 is an elevation of said gate tensionally adjusted for a raised position, showing it in its elevated position with its latch disengaged from the catch-device on the head post. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail elevation of the inclined slideways of the catch-device. Fig;

4 is a detail view in elevation, parts in section, of the latch-device in engagement with said catch-device. I l

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2,, I have shown therein a flexible gate.

Secured to the inner face of the head-post 12, opposite the head-stile 13, and about one third down from the top of the post is a catch-device 1. Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that this catch-device 1 has on its rear a circular boss 9, which has a square transverse aperture 8. This catch-device hasthree like slideways, 2, 3 and 4, of which the slideway 2 is directed upward vertically from the aperture 8 and inclined somewhat toward the post, while the other slideways 3 and 4-are directed horizontally in opposite directionsfromsaid aperture 8 at a like inclination to the post. Each slideway forms a segment of a disk and each has raised edge flanges 5 along its radially disposed edges, no flange being placed on the outer edge. Short webs 6 connect the angles of these shdeways and have transverse orifices 7 through which the screws 11 may be passed to secure said catch-device to the headpost 12.

. The numeral 14 denotes a hollow downwardly troughed body closed at the ends and whose forward end is curved to fit inside of the U-shaped head-stile 13. Said body proects somewhat to the rear of said head-stile 13, and is fastened to the head-stile by means of bolts 15 engaging grooves in the upper and lower ends of the body. The ends of sa1d body 14 are orificed in line to provide seats for a slidable bolt 17,'one end of which PIOJGCtS forwardly through an opening in I and beyond the head-stile 13, while the rear end of said bolt outside of said body l4-is bent downwardly to form a handle 20. Said bolt inside the trough of said body 14 is transversely orificed to receive a pin 18 lying ad acent to the forward end-wall of the body,'and a coiled compression spring 19 is seated about said bolt within said trough, and engaged between said pin and the rear end-wall of said body.

In case the clip 25 has been shifted along the head-stile 13 to a position as indicated n said Fig. 1, where the gate is thus located 1n 2. lower position,when the said gate is ,open and is swung in either direction horizontally toward said catch-device 1, its extending bolt 17 will enter and contact with either one of the horizontally inclined slideways 3 or 4, according to the direction in which it is being swung toward said catchdevice. The movement of the gate will force the end of said bolt 17 over the inclined surface of the slideway, pressing it in to compress the spring 19 until the end of the bolt In case the clipj25 has been carried down along the head-stile 13 to position similar to that shown in said Fig. 2, Where the tension of the spring 24- causes a flexible gate to be deformed and inclined upwardly toward its forward end, the latch-device 14 will then be located above the catch-device 1. In order to secure the gate in a closed position, it is merely necessary to pull thegate downwardly to cause the end of the bolt 17 to contact With the vertically inclined slideway 2 to slide tliereover in a similar way to that above described, until the end of the bolt passes into and becomes engaged with the Walls of the orifice 8, thus securing the gate in its closed position. To release the gate, the same operation is resorted to as above described to Withdraw the end of the bolt from the catch-device 1. It is, therefore, ob vious that my improved fastening-means is such that the gate may be easily and securely and automatically locked with the head-post, no matter how it is adjusted vertically, or when movable in an ordinary horizontal direction.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Fastening-means, comprising in combination, a fixed apertured catch having horizontal andvertical slideivays radiating from its aperture, said slideways being inclined Copies of this patent mav be obtained for from said aperture outwardly and away from an abutting gate-stile, a gate stile, and a bolt connected movably to said gate-stile and adapted to contact with and move over either of said slideways when the stile is swung toward said catch, to cause the bolt to be automatically moved into engagement with the aperture therein.

2. Fastening-means, comprising in combination, a fixed apertured catch, having horizontal and vertical slideways radiating from its aperture outwardly and away from an abutting gate-stile, each .slideway having raised rims on its radiating edges facing the gate stile, a gate-stile a bolt connected movably to said gate-stile, yieldable resilient means connected to said bolt and adapted to yieldingly thrust its outer end into contact with said catch, when moved either horifive cents each, by addressing the commissioner oi ratents, Washington, I), 0. 

